Question 1

Which of the following best captures the idea of an intermediate moral principle, as explained in Chapter 6?

Accepted Answer

A)  An intermediate moral principle is any moral principle that can be used as a subconclusion in a moral argument, serving as an intermediary between a general principle and a specific conclusion. 
B)  An intermediate moral principle is a principle that helps us apply the idea of the "golden mean." 
C)  An intermediate moral principle is more specific than statements of universal or role-specific obligations, but not so specific as to be about only a single case. 
D)  An intermediate moral principle is a principle that combines the importance of thinking about ethics in terms of obligations, consequences, and virtues. 
A)  An intermediate moral principle is any moral principle that can be used as a subconclusion in a moral argument, serving as an intermediary between a general principle and a specific conclusion. 
B)  An intermediate moral principle is a principle that helps us apply the idea of the "golden mean." 
C)  An intermediate moral principle is more specific than statements of universal or role-specific obligations, but not so specific as to be about only a single case. 
D)  An intermediate moral principle is a principle that combines the importance of thinking about ethics in terms of obligations, consequences, and virtues. C

Question 2

Which of the following best explains the idea of a thought experiment?

Accepted Answer

A)  A thought experiment is a kind of argument, involving hypothetical examples, intended to show that a person's mental state at the time of an action affects the morality of the action. 
B)  A thought experiment is a real or hypothetical scenario that philosophers use to show that a moral principle must be false because it has counterintuitive consequences. 
C)  A thought experiment is a hypothetical scenario that philosophers use to test whether a principle entails a conclusion that fits with our intuitive judgments about that scenario. 
D)  A thought experiment is a kind of argument intended to show that a particular historical person acted rightly or wrongly in a specific case. 
A)  A thought experiment is a kind of argument, involving hypothetical examples, intended to show that a person's mental state at the time of an action affects the morality of the action. 
B)  A thought experiment is a real or hypothetical scenario that philosophers use to show that a moral principle must be false because it has counterintuitive consequences. 
C)  A thought experiment is a hypothetical scenario that philosophers use to test whether a principle entails a conclusion that fits with our intuitive judgments about that scenario. 
D)  A thought experiment is a kind of argument intended to show that a particular historical person acted rightly or wrongly in a specific case. C

Question 3

Harry Brighouse and Adam Swift argue for an intermediate moral principle that justifies anything a parent needs to do, short of breaking the law, to give their children the best start in life.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False  False

Question 4

Applied ethicists generally try to avoid relying on moral intuitions when evaluating intermediate moral principles.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 5

A thought experiment is:

Accepted Answer

A)  A historical example that provides a counterexample to a moral principle. 
B)  An imaginary scenario used to test a moral principle. 
C)  An imaginary scenario that provides a counterexample to a moral principle. 
D)  A way of predicting the outcome of a scientific experiment. 
A)  A historical example that provides a counterexample to a moral principle. 
B)  An imaginary scenario used to test a moral principle. 
C)  An imaginary scenario that provides a counterexample to a moral principle. 
D)  A way of predicting the outcome of a scientific experiment.

Question 6

Briefly explain James Rachels's criticism of the principle that killing someone is morally worse than letting someone die. How does Philippa Foot respond to Rachels's argument?

Accepted Answer

James Rachels criticizes the principle t

Question 7

What is a thought experiment?

Accepted Answer

A)  An imaginary scenario used to elicit people's intuitive judgments about something as a way of evaluating a moral principle. 
B)  A detailed imaginary scenario in which everyone will agree about what the right thing to do is, which philosophers use to show that a particular moral principle is mistaken. 
C)  A fictional example or story designed to illustrate how a moral principle applies to specific cases, based on intuitive judgments. 
D)  A hypothetical scenario in which people's intuitive judgments match up with the implications of a moral principle to help people understand the principle. 
A)  An imaginary scenario used to elicit people's intuitive judgments about something as a way of evaluating a moral principle. 
B)  A detailed imaginary scenario in which everyone will agree about what the right thing to do is, which philosophers use to show that a particular moral principle is mistaken. 
C)  A fictional example or story designed to illustrate how a moral principle applies to specific cases, based on intuitive judgments. 
D)  A hypothetical scenario in which people's intuitive judgments match up with the implications of a moral principle to help people understand the principle.

Question 8

Which of the following is an example of an intermediate moral principle?

Accepted Answer

A)  Lying to a potential sexual partner is seriously wrong when that person would refuse a sexual relationship if he or she knew the truth. 
B)  Act so as to treat humanity, whether in your own person or in that of another, always as an end in itself and never merely as a means. 
C)  Actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness and wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness, where happiness is understood as pleasure and the absence of pain. 
D)  Barack Obama acted wrongly in ordering a drone strike to kill the U.S. citizen Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen. 
A)  Lying to a potential sexual partner is seriously wrong when that person would refuse a sexual relationship if he or she knew the truth. 
B)  Act so as to treat humanity, whether in your own person or in that of another, always as an end in itself and never merely as a means. 
C)  Actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness and wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness, where happiness is understood as pleasure and the absence of pain. 
D)  Barack Obama acted wrongly in ordering a drone strike to kill the U.S. citizen Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen.

Question 9

Harry Brighouse and Adam Swift introduce an intermediate moral principle about parenting to:

Accepted Answer

A)  Show that income inequality is a serious moral problem because of the way it enables some parents to provide unfair advantages to their own children. 
B)  Justify the claim that parents are morally permitted to take any legal steps to benefit their children, even if that means putting other people's children at a competitive disadvantage. 
C)  Help resolve conflicts between the parental obligation to pursue good outcomes for one's children and the universal obligation to be fair to others. 
D)  Help parents understand how to apply the universal obligations of beneficence and nonmaleficence to their own children. 
A)  Show that income inequality is a serious moral problem because of the way it enables some parents to provide unfair advantages to their own children. 
B)  Justify the claim that parents are morally permitted to take any legal steps to benefit their children, even if that means putting other people's children at a competitive disadvantage. 
C)  Help resolve conflicts between the parental obligation to pursue good outcomes for one's children and the universal obligation to be fair to others. 
D)  Help parents understand how to apply the universal obligations of beneficence and nonmaleficence to their own children.

Question 10

Intermediate moral principles can help you resolve conflicts between more general principles.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 11

In responding to a counterexample to an intermediate moral principle, "biting the bullet" means admitting that your principle is incorrect.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 12

Good philosophers never revise their intermediate moral principles in response to counterexamples.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 13

What is a counterexample?

Accepted Answer

A)  An example of a situation in which a moral principle gets the right answer. 
B)  An example used to counter an objection to an intermediate moral principle. 
C)  An example that illustrates how a general or intermediate moral principle applies to specific situations. 
D)  An example of a situation in which a moral principle has counterintuitive implications. 
A)  An example of a situation in which a moral principle gets the right answer. 
B)  An example used to counter an objection to an intermediate moral principle. 
C)  An example that illustrates how a general or intermediate moral principle applies to specific situations. 
D)  An example of a situation in which a moral principle has counterintuitive implications.

Question 14

According to Chapter 6, how can the use of counterexamples help you arrive at justified moral principles?

Accepted Answer

A)  By helping you revise your moral principles until they fit well with your moral intuitions. 
B)  By helping you eliminate counterintuitive moral intuitions. 
C)  By helping you show that all competing moral principles are subject to counterexamples. 
D)  By preparing you to "bite the bullet" to defend your proposed moral principles. 
A)  By helping you revise your moral principles until they fit well with your moral intuitions. 
B)  By helping you eliminate counterintuitive moral intuitions. 
C)  By helping you show that all competing moral principles are subject to counterexamples. 
D)  By preparing you to "bite the bullet" to defend your proposed moral principles.

Question 15

What moral principle does Don Marquis use in his argument about abortion?

Accepted Answer

A)  It is usually morally wrong to kill someone who has a future of value. 
B)  Killing someone intentionally is morally worse than killing someone accidentally. 
C)  It is morally wrong to kill anything that has the potential to become a person. 
D)  It is morally wrong to kill anything that has a unique set of human DNA. 
A)  It is usually morally wrong to kill someone who has a future of value. 
B)  Killing someone intentionally is morally worse than killing someone accidentally. 
C)  It is morally wrong to kill anything that has the potential to become a person. 
D)  It is morally wrong to kill anything that has a unique set of human DNA.

Question 16

Which of the following is an example of an intermediate moral principle?

Accepted Answer

A)  It is always prima facie wrong to harm someone. 
B)  Harming someone is only permissible in defense of yourself or others. 
C)  Neighborhood watch member George Zimmerman acted wrongly in shooting the unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin. 
D)  In the absence of complete information, markets sometimes fail to allocate resources efficiently. 
A)  It is always prima facie wrong to harm someone. 
B)  Harming someone is only permissible in defense of yourself or others. 
C)  Neighborhood watch member George Zimmerman acted wrongly in shooting the unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin. 
D)  In the absence of complete information, markets sometimes fail to allocate resources efficiently.

Question 17

A thought experiment is a mental blueprint for an actual experiment designed to test an intermediate moral principle.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 18

Which of the following is an example of an intermediate moral principle?

Accepted Answer

A)  Obey the rules whose acceptance would bring about the best consequences. 
B)  Act courageously. 
C)  Keep your promises. 
D)  Killing is wrong when it deprives the victim of a future of value. 
A)  Obey the rules whose acceptance would bring about the best consequences. 
B)  Act courageously. 
C)  Keep your promises. 
D)  Killing is wrong when it deprives the victim of a future of value.

Question 19

Intermediate moral principles can help you decide how to apply more general principles in tricky situations.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 20

What is a moral intuition? What role do you think moral intuitions should have in moral reasoning? Why?

Accepted Answer

Moral intuition refers to the immediate

Which of the following best captures the idea of an intermediate moral principle, as explained in Chapter 6?

Which of the following best explains the idea of a thought experiment?

Harry Brighouse and Adam Swift argue for an intermediate moral principle that justifies anything a parent needs to do, short of breaking the law, to give their children the best start in life.

Applied ethicists generally try to avoid relying on moral intuitions when evaluating intermediate moral principles.

A thought experiment is:

Briefly explain James Rachels's criticism of the principle that killing someone is morally worse than letting someone die. How does Philippa Foot respond to Rachels's argument?

What is a thought experiment?

Which of the following is an example of an intermediate moral principle?

Harry Brighouse and Adam Swift introduce an intermediate moral principle about parenting to:

Intermediate moral principles can help you resolve conflicts between more general principles.

In responding to a counterexample to an intermediate moral principle, "biting the bullet" means admitting that your principle is incorrect.

Good philosophers never revise their intermediate moral principles in response to counterexamples.

What is a counterexample?

According to Chapter 6, how can the use of counterexamples help you arrive at justified moral principles?

What moral principle does Don Marquis use in his argument about abortion?

Which of the following is an example of an intermediate moral principle?

A thought experiment is a mental blueprint for an actual experiment designed to test an intermediate moral principle.

Which of the following is an example of an intermediate moral principle?

Intermediate moral principles can help you decide how to apply more general principles in tricky situations.

What is a moral intuition? What role do you think moral intuitions should have in moral reasoning? Why?

An Introduction to Arguments

Moral Arguments

Reasoning With Obligations

Reasoning About Consequences

Reasoning With Virtues and Vices

Reasoning With Analogies

Answering Moral Questions

Skepticism, Subjectivism, and Relativism

Religion and Moral Reasoning

Normative Theories, Part 1

Normative Theories, Part 2

Aristotle's Ethics: Exploring Virtue and Justice

Filters

Exam 6: Reasoning With Principles and Counterexamples

Which of the following best captures the idea of an intermediate moral principle, as explained in Chapter 6?

Which of the following best explains the idea of a thought experiment?

Harry Brighouse and Adam Swift argue for an intermediate moral principle that justifies anything a parent needs to do, short of breaking the law, to give their children the best start in life.

Applied ethicists generally try to avoid relying on moral intuitions when evaluating intermediate moral principles.

A thought experiment is:

Briefly explain James Rachels's criticism of the principle that killing someone is morally worse than letting someone die. How does Philippa Foot respond to Rachels's argument?

What is a thought experiment?

Which of the following is an example of an intermediate moral principle?

Harry Brighouse and Adam Swift introduce an intermediate moral principle about parenting to:

Intermediate moral principles can help you resolve conflicts between more general principles.

In responding to a counterexample to an intermediate moral principle, "biting the bullet" means admitting that your principle is incorrect.

Good philosophers never revise their intermediate moral principles in response to counterexamples.

What is a counterexample?

According to Chapter 6, how can the use of counterexamples help you arrive at justified moral principles?

What moral principle does Don Marquis use in his argument about abortion?

Which of the following is an example of an intermediate moral principle?

A thought experiment is a mental blueprint for an actual experiment designed to test an intermediate moral principle.

Which of the following is an example of an intermediate moral principle?

Intermediate moral principles can help you decide how to apply more general principles in tricky situations.

What is a moral intuition? What role do you think moral intuitions should have in moral reasoning? Why?

An Introduction to Arguments

Moral Arguments

Reasoning With Obligations

Reasoning About Consequences

Reasoning With Virtues and Vices

Reasoning With Analogies

Answering Moral Questions

Skepticism, Subjectivism, and Relativism

Religion and Moral Reasoning

Normative Theories, Part 1

Normative Theories, Part 2

Aristotle's Ethics: Exploring Virtue and Justice

Filters